The Spirituality and Miracles of St. Clare of Assisi

St. Dominic -- A Special Saint for Two Birthdays

Today is a special day -- my birthday and my sister-in-law Janet's birthday. She is a remarkable lady, not only because she is my sister-in-law, but she is also a dear friend who has so much love in her heart for others. She is a loving wife and mother -- a trained nurse -- who cares for her handicapped adult son at home. Her son was so disabled at birth that physicians did not expect him to live to see adolescence. Wrong! (But that is a story for another day.)

Like me, she has a strong devotion to Our Blessed Virgin Mary and believes in the power of prayer, especially the rosary, as did today's saint, St. Dominic, who received the rosary from Our Blessed Mother in a vision to use as a "weapon" for conversion.

Dominic Guzman was born in Spain in 1170 to wealthy nobility, Blessed Joan of Aza and Felix Guzman. When she was pregnant, his mother had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth; a dog with a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the order which he founded, the Dominicans.

At Dominic's baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Dominic studied theology and philosophy at the University of Palencia and became an Augustinian priest who worked for clerical reform. As a missionary, his lifetime apostolate was to convert heretics, especially Albigensians, in France. Together with his fellow missionary, Blessed Peter of Castelnau, he converted the Albigensians and others through fasting, penance, and faithful recitation of the rosary.

He founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls.

St. Dominic was a man of remarkable attractiveness of character and broadness of vision; he had the deepest compassion for every sort of human suffering; he saw the need to use all the resources of human learning in the service of Christ; his constant reading was St. Matthew's gospel, St. Paul's letters and the Conferences of St. John Cassian. The order that he founded was a formative factor in the religious and intellectual life of later medieval Europe; its diffusion is now world-wide. This saint was the subject of the song 'Domininque' that was so popular in 1963-4; his emblems are a star and a dog with a torch in its mouth. [From Donald Attwatter, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, Penguin Books, 1963.]

One of his religious daughters, Cecilia Cesarini, describes St. Dominic in the following way: "The Blessed Dominic was of medium height and of slight build. His countenance was beautiful, of fair complexion, with light auburn hair and beard and luminous eyes. A kind of radiance shone from his brow, inspiring love and reverence in all. Full of joy, he seemed ever ready to smile, unless moved to pity by the affliction of his neighbor. His hands were long and shapely; his voice strong, noble, and sonorous. He never was bald, and his corona was complete, sprinkled with a few white hairs." Dominic, no doubt, would have smiled at this description of him: "Cecilia," he would say, "there is only one beauty: that of the soul."

Prayer:

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic


Quotes:

"A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."

"Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes. "